Coach Greeley ran over to her with clipboard and stopwatch in hand. “Great job, Shelly!” she exclaimed. “A new school record! And this time, it’s official! Better yet, it’s even faster than your practice time. Wow! Just wow!”
“Thanks,” Shelly said sheepishly. While Coach Greeley scribbled more notes on her clipboard, Shelly glanced at her team. They were out of the pool and racing toward her, cheering for her along with the crowd in the stands, which was missing her parents.
But Kendall was not cheering.
Their eyes met as Kendall climbed out of the water—and she glared at Shelly something fierce. Alana and Attina looked glum. They both knew what had just happened. They knew that Shelly had taken the record from Kendall. And this time, like Coach said, it was official.
Coach Greeley patted Shelly hard on the back as she addressed the rest of the team. “Looks like we have a new top swimmer at Triton Bay!” She beamed at Shelly, who cringed in response.
Kendall looked downright furious. Her expression sent a cold wave through Shelly. The whole reason she had made her wish—the reason this all had been happening to her—was that she didn’t want to lose her new friends. But the wish hadn’t helped at all. In fact, it had made everything worse. Kendall hated her. And the twins would surely follow suit.
“Shelly, where are you going?” Coach Greeley called after her.
But Shelly had rushed to the locker room, tears pricking her eyes and blurring her vision. She tried to change quickly before the rest of her team came in. She needed to get her gloves on and fasten her scarf around her neck. She couldn’t risk anyone seeing her without her disguise.
She pulled out the gloves and slid one on, but in her frazzled state, she dropped the other on the floor. She reached down to pick it up when someone stepped on it. Shelly looked up. Kendall was staring down at her. She studied Shelly’s bare hand—complete with its webbed fingers.
Kendall’s face contorted in disgust. “What’s that? Did you cheat or something?”
Shelly yanked the glove from under Kendall’s foot and slid it on. “No. Not at all!”
Kendall squinted at her. “You’re acting awfully fishy. Also, how could you take over my event?”
“What? Why? Didn’t you want me to win?” Shelly said, scared of her friend’s reaction. “So that we could beat Little River? I did it. We did it! What does it matter who came first as long as we got the trophy?”
“Who cares about the trophy?” said Kendall. “You were just being a show-off. And nobody likes a show-off.” Kendall eyed Shelly’s now gloved hand. “Or a cheat.” And with that, Kendall stormed out.
Shelly felt as if a jellyfish had stung her right in the heart.
* * *
Shelly hid in the showers until all the girls had gone, and then she stumbled back into the locker room. When she cracked open her locker and pulled out her backpack, she felt the shell lodged in there. The nautilus shell that started this wild chain of events. That shell and the sea witch were the reasons she was in this mess in the first place. Sure, things hadn’t been perfect in her life before her wish. But they were better than this. Fish lover taunts reverberated in her head.
Her body was transforming into a fish. Would it ever go back to normal?
She pulled out the shell and stared at it, and then—almost on impulse—she tossed it into the trash can. She waited for something terrible to happen, but nothing did. She let out her breath. It felt like a weight had lifted off her shoulders. Good riddance, she thought. She headed back to the indoor pool. All she could think about was the look of disgust on Kendall’s face. It hovered in her memory with every step she took. Shelly’s mother was supposed to be in the school parking lot by then to pick her up. As Shelly passed the pool, it was dark and shadowy. The main lights had already been turned off. Only the pool lights glowed, casting eerie rippling shadows across the walls. She walked along the edge of the pool.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a dark shadow dart under the water. It created a ripple that curled from one end of the pool to the other. Watching it, Shelly skidded to a halt, her heart thudding. “Hello . . . is anybody there?” she called out, squinting at the pool.
That was when she saw it again. There was something in the water.
She peered over the edge of the pool and down at the blue-green water.
Glowing eyes locked on to hers. She staggered backward and ran.
But a thick black tentacle shot out of the water and grabbed her ankle.
“No! Let me go!” she screamed, digging her nails into the tentacle to try to get free. But the tentacle pulled her closer to the edge of the pool, where the glowing eyes and dark shadow waited for her just under the waterline. Shelly staggered toward the water, closer and closer, trying her hardest to break free. A cackle reverberated through the arena. It was the sea witch.
“Stop!” Shelly screamed, fighting to pry the tentacle off her leg.
She was on the cement floor as it kept pulling her toward the pool, closer and closer. The eyes watched her, unblinking. Shelly was inches away from being yanked into the water.
“You forgot our deal!” Ursula cackled. “You owe me a favor!”
“But I take my wish back!” Shelly screamed as the tentacle tightened. “I didn’t mean it!”
“No takebacks, my dear! Come to my lair—or else!”
Shelly struggled against the tentacle, punching the slimy flesh, and finally it released its grip and slithered back into the pool. Shelly ran as fast as she could. The sea witch
